The 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Adventures

Thursday, November 29, 2012

This week I traveled to Ann Arbor to visit one of the labs doing research on the Great Lakes. I met up with Dr. Madenjian first and we talked about alewives and the salmon fishery.

Great Lakes Science Center, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Dr. David "Bo" Bunnell with some of the fish collected from Lake Michigan

Then, Dr. Bunnell (in photo above) gave me a tour of the facility and we had a long talk about his work to understand the food web in the lakes.

The Great Lakes Science Center has been doing an annual bottom trawl survey on Lake Michigan since 1973. They have seen tremendous change in the lake over the decades.

The most dramatic change is the colonization of the lake by invasive mussels. While zebra mussels are known to beach walkers, the quagga mussel has taken over the deeper parts of the lake and has blanketed the floor of Lake Michigan.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

In July of 2010, an oil pipeline ruptured in Michigan spilling 1.1 million gallons of heavy crude into the Kalamazoo River.

Over two years and hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent cleaning up the river.

This was the nation's

costliest oil pipeline accident.

Consider this: Enbridge has a pipeline that rests at the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac. What if the rupture had taken place there instead of inland and contained in a river? Would the shores of Mackinac Island still be coated in thick oil? How much of that spill would now be working its way down past Port Huron, Detroit, and into Lake Erie?

Do you think it can't happen? Enbridge pipelines have had a dozen leaks in the state of Michigan alone since 2003.

Great Lakes Speaker [click on photo to learn more]

“Loreen is a great speaker: funny, informative, approachable, and so interesting…she even makes geology fascinating! She’s been featured in the Detroit Free Press, Chicago Sun Times, and Country Woman Magazine. I highly recommend her.” --------- Colleen Leddy, Head Librarian , Stair Public Library

NEW RELEASE: Audiobook Edition of third book in trilogy

All three books are now available as audiobooks. CLICK on image to learn more.

:::ENGAGE AS SPEAKER:::

Author & Adventurer Loreen Niewenhuis delivers dynamic presentations from each of her Great Lakes Adventures.

Many diverse venues have engaged her as a speaker including universities, libraries, clubs, schools, REI stores, senior centers, conferences, and museums.

Environmental organizations have also engaged her as a speaker including the Sierra Club, The Nature Conservancy, and North Country Trail groups. She was a featured author at the Kerrytown BookFest.

She has four presentations to choose from:

~~LAKE MICHIGAN ADVENTURE~~

~~OUR MAJESTIC GREAT LAKES~~

~~ISLANDS OF THE GREAT LAKES~~

~~ISLE ROYALE: WILDERNESS ISLAND~~

Praise for Loreen's Presentations:

"We had rave reviews for Loreen's talk. She is extremely knowledgeable about all things to do with the Great Lakes and her presentation was most informative and entertaining. Quite the best we've ever had!" --Diana Howbert, Grosse Pointe Public Library

"Loreen translates her passion for our Great Lakes into advocacy, education, science, humor, and beauty by taking listeners and readers with her on these GREAT adventures. Her five-city speaking blitz awed and inspired Indiana conservationists with the importance of preserving and protecting our Great Lakes. Loreen's adventures are truly amazing!" --Martha Bolyard, former Assoc. Dir. of Philanthropy at The Nature Conservancy of Indiana

"Loreen is a great speaker: funny, informative, approachable, and so interesting...she even makes geology fascinating! She's been featured in The Detroit Free Press, the Chicago Sun-Times, and Country Woman Magazine. I highly recommend her."

--Colleen Leddy, Head Librarian Stair Public Library

To inquire about engaging Loreen as a speaker, please email her at: LakeTrek@gmail.com

NEW eBOOK RELEASE: Best Lake Michigan Hikes

Top-selling eBook on topic of "Walking." Only 99 cents. Click image now

Audiobook Edition of first book in trilogy

Click image now

CONTACT AUTHOR

The book about Loreen's first hike is A 1,000-MILE WALK ON THE BEACH. It spent time on the Heartland Indie Bestseller List and won the Best Non-Fiction Beach Book from The Beach Book Festival.

The book about her second hike touching all five Great Lakes is titled A 1,000-MILE GREAT LAKES WALK. This book won the "Great Lakes Great Reads Award" given by independent bookstores in the Midwest.

Her latest adventure transported her off the shoreline to many of the islands of the Great Lakes. The third book in this series -- A 1,000-MILE GREAT LAKES ISLAND ADVENTURE -- was long-listed for the Chautauqua Literary Prize.

Crickhollow Booksof Milwaukee has published these books about Loreen's Great Lakes Adventures.

Look for her books wherever books are sold. Shop at your local indie bookstore!